- 6.
The audience was shocked.
Г
Brenda confessed to having depression.
The controversy changed.
Everyone started to feel sorry for Brenda.
“She’s been bullied this far. She’s probably
suicidal!”
“Ashley should be killed. She bullied her
backstage, now she’s doing it onstage! How
evil!”
“Please kick her off the show. How is she still
on stage? Get out!”
I ignored the shouts.
I saw Brenda and Chad exchanging a look of
く
I spoke up again.
“If you don’t want to sing, can we get
someone from the show to check the
recording? Then we’ll see if the singing was
you or a prerecorded track.”
Before I finished, a sound engineer walked
onstage.
He was holding a laptop.
He started downloading the audio to his
computer.
Brenda tried to stop him, but I blocked her.
“Brenda, what’s the rush? This man is here to
clear your name. You should thank him.”
Brenda got more frantic.
“Who are you calling a sound engineer?
You’re framing me! I bet you’re a friend!”
The engineer gave her a cold look.
“I’m Will, and I’m an investor in this show. I
hate lip–syncing. If you say you’re innocent,
we’ll see what the recording says.”
The engineer started the analysis.
Will was the only one who stood up for me
when I was canceled.
He told the truth about Brenda being tone-
deaf.
He heard Brenda ask to sing easier parts
during rehearsal.
But there were no videos, only his word.
He couldn’t prove my innocence.
Brenda started a smear campaign about me
and Will.
She accused us of having an affair.
He got harassed online and quit.
I messaged Will after I came back.
I told him about Brenda’s rigged recording.
He brought his laptop to the stage.
The judges spoke up.
“Will, you’re the investor. Why are you getting involved? You’re taking this too seriously.”
“Will, you said no lip–syncing. These girls
know the rules. They wouldn’t lip–sync.”
Will scoffed.
“I hired you to pick singers, not to do favors!
No more cheating!”
The judges turned white.
I realized they knew about the lip–syncing and
helped Brenda.
